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European accelerator IMPACT is launching IMPACT GROWTH, a new acceleration program with a fund of €3.6 million and the final aim of identifying four European super startups.

In the first stage of the program, IMPACT Growth will finance 28 startups with €100,000, equity free, with the best receiving up to €250,000 equity free.

Led by ISDI, the acceleration program has the support of FundingBox, the FIWARE Foundation, Accelerace, Mobile World Capital Barcelona, ​​Kibo Ventures, Invesdor, Danone, Ferrovial Servicios, DOCOMO Digital and MADE, among others.

The program is aimed at startups from all over the world in the growth phase, with products that are already in the market. Furthermore, startups should have the potential to achieve Seed and Series A round financing at the end of the acceleration program, to access capital already focused on scalability and international growth.

An important aspect of this new program is the creation of four acceleration verticals. Each vertical is supported by a large international organization that will act as a mentor to selected projects, offering focused expertise and the possibility of future partnerships. The areas are:

Smart Infrastructure & Cities, supported by Ferrovial Servicios;

Smart Content, with DOCOMO Digital as leader;

Smart AgriFood, led by Danone;

Smart Manufacturing, partnered with MADE (Lego).

As in IMPACT’s previous programs, funding will go hand in hand with a high-performance startup training program, led by ISDI and Accelerace, in which renowned experts and international entrepreneurs will deliver practical classes in Madrid, Copenhagen, and Barcelona. In addition, entrepreneurs will have access to an international network of more than one hundred recognized mentors, founders, and investors who are experts in different key areas of knowledge, both in the digital sector and in the accelerator’s four verticals.

Mentors will help startups solve complex issues related to business, technology, and scalability. Following the acceleration phase of the program, two startups selected from the batch of 28 will also receive an additional €150,000 equity free, and the best four will have the opportunity to get up to €1.5 million in private investment from Kibo Ventures and Accelerace.

Startups will receive support from the FIWARE Foundation in incorporating FIWARE technologies into their software architecture. FIWARE is an innovative, open source, and cloud-based technology stack that eases the creation and global deployment of smart

IMPACT Growth is accepting applications on their website until May 9th, 2017.

6.4 million in two years

The goal of IMPACT Growth is to become the reference point for European accelerators in Future Internet trends, to expand Old World innovation practices to the rest of the planet (USA, Latam and Asia), through the values of growth of high performance and transparency. These values are what led IMPACT’s previous acceleration program to be one of the highest-evaluated within the European digital ecosystem and inspired the creation of Open Acceleration. This methodology is detailed in a whitepaper, created by ISDI, which provides open data on the growth of the accelerator and its 63 startups.

Since its creation, two years ago, IMPACT has invested 6.4 million euros over three open calls. Numbers to highlight include:

Applications from more than 2,600 startups in 42 countries;

63 projects accelerated and financed with €100,000 equity free;

Job creation: accelerated startups went from an average of 4.3 to 6.4 employees;

In addition, the average outside funding obtained grew from €188,000 per startup before the program to €360,000 after IMPACT’s acceleration.

In aggregate, the group of startups that has gone through IMPACT doubled funding achieved.